1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuse box having a housing body and an undercover, and more particularly to a fuse box in which the connections of screw-fastened type fuses installed in the housing are enclosed simultaneously with the assembly of the undercover to the housing as well as the detection of a screw left loosely tightened while assembling the undercover to the housing.
2. Prior Art
FIG. 6 shows one such conventional fuse box. In the figure, a housing 23 made of synthetic resin is formed with a chamber therein having an opening 25 on the top of the housing 23. Through the opening 25 is inserted a screw-fastened type fuse 24. The fuse 24 has a pair of terminals 26, each of which opposes openings 28 formed in two opposing walls 27 of the housing 23 when the fuse is inserted. Each of the openings 28 is adapted to be closed by an insulating door 30 which is integrally continuous with the housing 23 via a thin hinge 29. The door 30 is firmly closed to the housing by means of a claw 31. The respective terminal 26 of the fuse 24 is formed with a hole 26a therein through which a bolt 34 is inserted. The fuse 24 is inserted through the opening 25 and firmly fixed by screwing the bolt 34 into a nut(not shown) embedded in the housing 23 through the hole 26a in the terminals 26 and a hole in a terminal crimped with a wire 32. With the two wires 32 extending downwards from the housing 23, the door 30 is first closed and then an undercover 36 is assembled to a bottom opening 35. The undercover 36 has resilient clamping-straps 37 that engage projections 38 on the lower portion of the housing 23 for firm attachment.
However, with the aforementioned conventional fuse box, when assembling the fuse 24 and terminals 33 on the wire to the housing 23, the opening and closing of the door 30 and the assembly of the undercover 36 are involved. It is time consuming and difficult to align the projections 37 of the undercover 36 with the projections 38 on the housing 23. Sometimes the hinges of the doors 30 are damaged because of frequent and rough opening and closing operation during replacement of the fuse. Additionally, high molding technique is required to form a thin hinge 29 and therefore the mold used is of a large size. This makes the manufacture cost of the housing 23 high. The conventional fuse box also suffers from the drawback that a workman cannot become aware when he inadvertently closes the door 30 with the bolt 34 left loosely tightened.